Thursday, October 9, 2008

Off-Season Schedule

It's taken 10 days for me to come back to my blog, but I'm ready to begin writing again.

I will be updating throughout the off-season, with a in-depth look at the current 40-man roster (as of October 1, 2008) and its future with the team, as well as any signs, tradings or roster moves. The basic format for the player analysis pieces will include a recap of their 2008 season, predictions for the future and my opinion about whether or not they should remain in the organization.

You might be surprised to hear that I do not think a lot of personnel change is needed. There are certain obvious player additions and subtractions that would benefit the team in 2009, but I think the more necessary change is a philosophical one. The mindset of how this organization is run is what continues to hamstring it - overpaying in free agency for mid-30s veterans, focusing on multi-year deals for established starters instead of holding open competitions for spots once in a while, building a bench entirely of washed-up has-beens instead of giving chances to a young player or someone who was blocked by another organization. These are the things I'll be focusing on during the off-season, even though I realize that ultimately I will be tilting at windmills.

I also hope to get back to some of the theoretical stuff I was writing about earlier in the 2008 season. One of the things I love about baseball is that there are so many strategies, both tested and untested, that can lead to success. Conventional wisdom, more often than not, is the enemy of innovative strategy. I love dissecting the conventional wisdom on certain topics and thinking about new and better ways to succeed. Expect to see a few long-form pieces on these subjects over the next few months.

I root for the New York Mets, but I do not like them. In fact, I have not truly liked them for several years now. I will always be a fan, but there is a perverse side of me that enjoys watching the organization continue to be punished for its failure to innovate. The last two seasons have been particularly excruciating - not just because of the devastating collapses that denied the team of playoff berths, but also because the people who run the franchise simply do not seem to understand that something is fundamentally wrong here.

There IS something fundamentally wrong with the New York Mets. In fact, there are quite a few fundamental problems with this organization. Let's use the next six months to discuss what these problems are, and together let's start coming up with the solutions.

In the end, I want more than just a baseball team to follow. I want a baseball team that I can root for.